To Whom It May Concern and District 2 Councilman Jim Waring,

I was recently made aware of a proposal from Garrett Real Estate Development, LLC to rezone a 1.61-acre site at the southwest corner of Sonoran Desert Drive and North Valley Parkway to allow for a self-storage facility. In researching this development, it was initially slated to be a retail, commercial site, which is supported by our local neighborhoods. After learning of the plans for this parcel, there has been a massive outcry from the community opposing this via social media.

I can tell you that not only does my family not support this or want this self-storage facility in our neighborhood, a lot of our neighbors feel the same way. This self-storage project that Garrett Real Estate proposes will face an uphill battle with not only my family but with the surrounding neighbors in the area for multiple reasons I have outlined below.

1. Our area currently does not have enough Police and Fire to handle the added crime that increases when a facility of this type is built.

2. The self-storage facility does not fit into the original approved village plan for the area and is attempting to rezone the area which includes blasting into the ground for a basement. A self-storage facility has the potential to damage homes in the Sonoran Commons and surrounding buildings.

3. In addition to bringing down home values, self-storage facilities of this type are known to increase crime, and there are known cases where homeless individuals will either live out of storage units or perform illegal activities out of them.

4. If the rezoning is approved and the storage facility is not successful, the building will potentially stay vacant for an extended period due to the uniqueness of the zoning. It will be difficult for another business to move into this space.

Over the past several years, it's been documented that professional narcotic traffickers and distributors are utilizing private storage facilities to store and conceal their drugs and/or proceeds of their illicit business. Of particular concern, however, is the health and safety threat that this imposes on property owners, employees, and the surrounding neighborhood. For example, many of the chemicals used in the illegal manufacture of methamphetamine are volatile and toxic and can be potentially lethal even if exposed to in small amounts. In studies by Law enforcement, police officers have found all sorts of criminal activity lurking inside of an unassuming self-storage facility. Recently, police training classes have talked about the use of a self-storage facility to establish a meth lab. While the threat of methamphetamine production is real, don’t forget about other crimes that can happen in these units:

• storage of drugs
• storage of counterfeit goods
• stolen property
• money that is waiting to be laundered
• the making of bombs for a terrorist attack
• storage of illegal weapons

In closing, a 98,000+sf, two-story building will add nothing aesthetically to the area, and it will discourage any community in this space. There are currently 4 Self Storage Facilities within a 5-mile radius, with plans for more already approved and it works. I think we can all agree, that there is a better use for this commercial land, other than a self-storage facility.

Please keep in contact with me in regards to an upcoming meeting about this parcel.